The South Korean government is ramping up its scientific and technological cooperation with the U.S. They have signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear and high-energy collaboration and are discussing implementation plans based on last year’s technology prosperity agreement. This initiative aims to broaden collaboration in science and technology sectors between the two nations.
On Monday, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) announced that Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae held meetings with key U.S. government agencies from August 25 to August 30 and attended the opening ceremony of the G-KIC-NST, a hub for U.S. bio collaboration.
During his visit to Washington, D.C., on August 27, Vice Minister Koo signed a Statement of Intent for cooperation in nuclear and high-energy physics with Dario Gil, the Deputy Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy. The two countries plan to identify and expand collaboration in major research infrastructure projects, including the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).
From August 25 to 26, Vice Minister Koo met with Ethan Klein, the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO), to discuss implementation strategies for the Technology Prosperity Agreement (TPD). Both governments signed the TPD on October 29 last year and established a working group in February to facilitate its implementation.
On August 28, Vice Minister Koo visited Boston to attend the G-KIC-NST opening ceremony. This facility aims to support South Korean research institutions in advancing their cutting-edge biotechnology to enter the global market by fostering collaboration with the U.S. bio-innovation ecosystem and establishing local networks. He also held discussions with Korean-American scientists to share insights on U.S. biotechnology trends, research and development (R&D) support, and cooperation strategies between South Korea and the U.S.
Vice Minister Koo stated that as strategic technologies like AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology emerge as key drivers of national competitiveness and future growth, South Korea and the U.S. are expanding their cooperation in science and technology sectors based on the strong alliance. It plans to generate tangible results in core technology areas based on last year’s technology prosperity agreement and to enhance substantive collaboration between our countries through the recent Statement of Intent signed with the Department of Energy.